Safe Spot
by Mr. Havik
Summary: One-shot. Pre-Shadow Moses. Liquid learns that women have safer hiding places than men.


A/N: Somebody tell me this is stupid already...

Disclaimer: I don't own MGS.

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><p><strong>Safe Spot<strong>

**By Mr. Havik**

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><p>Past 1600 hours and he was yet to receive confirmation. But he was a son of the Boss; he had the innate ability to keep a level head even though the confirmed target had been delayed by six hours in the least. Wolf could care less. She was not used to being impatient and so sat frozen by the sill, the nozzle of her rifle just barely poking through the gap in the blinds, breathing ever so silently as if the ringing of her codec may go unheard.<p>

He took turns, switching between the scope and the mess of wires at his feet. At most, he paid more heed towards the time bomb, checking and scrutinizing every detail so many times over the span of six hours that Wolf had lost count. She could almost chuckle how easily the soldier's patience wore thin.

Perhaps it was injustice, this mission.

Wolf, of all people, knew that the Snake's caliber far surpassed the requirements of the OP; why he had been sent along would have been a mystery unless she hadn't developed the knack for noticing something precarious in her line of work. She had been briefed that she was about to kill some powerful bureaucrat who had made just too many wrong decisions, enough to piss the higher ups at the Pentagon off. If her readings were correct, this mission wasn't exactly high profile, not demanding enough that her superior, Liquid Snake, be sent along as well.

And what duty had he to fulfill?

He was simply to set the timer on the bomb to detonate after Wolf had initiated the kill. Leave no trace behind… She doubted if it would be worth anyone's attention. She never left any trace behind, and especially when the building they were stationed in had been abandoned two years ago, she didn't think anyone would be able to find any trace of her, even if she chanced upon being a little careless. The probability was low. All she knew was that Liquid didn't need to be here.

She believed he thought the same thing.

No wonder he failed so miserably at concealing his anxiousness. Perhaps he understood as well that he was not meant to act as support for a mission this easy. There must have been something going on back at HQ, she thought, which was the real reason why the Snake fought to stay calm.

"Cigarettes…" he murmured. Wolf hadn't realized that he gotten up and walked away to the other end of the room. She had the mind to curse herself for becoming distracted but she decided she'd berate herself another day. Her head resting against the wall, she merely peeked through the corner of her exposed eye, seeing only the back of his form and the curtain of dirty blonde hair that hung off his shoulders.

He had been rummaging through the old, rotting dresser and found a crumpled pack of cancer sticks which he promptly took in his hand. He pinched one in his fingers and held it near his nose, taking a whiff of it before pulling it away and throwing the carton back in the drawer. He pushed the dresser shut, returning to the window sill and holding his pair of binoculars to his eyes. Wolf had the strange thought that sneaking suits didn't compliment him and she was thankful she never blurted that thought out loud.

"Why don't you have one?" she inquired, tilting her head when she saw the scope inch away from his face.

Still not here.

And they hadn't even received the burst transmission; they would have to wait longer, perhaps.

"Expired," he answered, looking through the device again. "I'm more of a cigar person anyway."

It had been a while since Wolf had cracked a grin, even if it had been a ghost of a curl, but it was a feat in itself.

Very much like Saladin, she wondered, slightly satisfied. She thought Liquid only looked like his own father but he shared most of the habits as well, and that alone was why Wolf preferred to work under the Snake. Sometimes it felt as if Saladin never left; one cheap excuse to fill that hole in her heart. Though if she would tell that to Liquid, he'd sure blow his cap and once again, she found herself keeping her thoughts locked up somewhere in the cold recesses of her mind. Funny man he was, Liquid.

His hands slipped into his pockets, quickly reappearing and disappearing into other stitches within his uniform until eventually reaching his backpack. By now, he was fumbling as he performed a bull body search on himself, but she kept silent, instead preferring to watch her superior be as clumsy as she had ever seen him be.

"Bugger…" he cursed, crouching down next to the darned bomb and messing with it once again, silently accepting defeat.

"What?" she asked, shifting so she could see through the crosshairs of her sniper scope the patrolling guards outside the warehouse where the target was meant to arrive. She pulled away, leaning back against the wall and trying hard to look as if she was genuinely interested in Liquid's plight. It was of no real use though; he wasn't even looking at her.

"I think I dropped it."

"_What?_" she had spoken the word sharply so as to let him know that he hadn't exactly answered her question the first time.

"The cigar…" he replied, meeting her gaze. "I had it on me… think I dropped it…"

She lifted a brow but Liquid said nothing further of it. His attention returned to the cluster of wires he dared to toy with, with Wolf silently watching him for a length of time she considered unhealthy if he wasn't on the other end of her sniping scope. She inclined towards him, just enough to tap him on the arm and then leaned back into her comfort zone when she had his attention. His eyes were now on her and she slipped her carefully manicured fingers into the collar of her uniform.

Liquid squinted, not entirely understanding why she was fondling with her breasts until she fished out a finger sized, half-used cigar. She held it out to him, a triumphant yet subtle smile on her lips as she saw the Snake's eyes drift from her now exposed cleavage to the cigar warily. She thought his eyes had narrowed down even more. It had been a moment before he took the stick and gave her such a strange look that Wolf thought that she would have laughed if he would have tried just a little harder.

"I scooped it up when you dropped it," she explained herself. "It's a good thing you were taking lead, no?"

He was silent.

Still awkward.

He got up and leaned next to the window, the furrow of his brows speaking of the uncountable questions and ravings that stormed through his mind. But that man was not one to back down, she found out, when he put that thing between his teeth, never taking his questioning gaze off her.

"Ruins the taste," he told her. She kept smiling but didn't answer.

His hands patted his form once again. Her smile grew wider as she fished her cleavage once again, this time producing a lighter. Wolf held it out to him. He gave her that same look.

It had been a while before he accepted the token.

He shook his head in disbelief as she chuckled away audibly.


End file.
